ACTORS: Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Rosie Perez
PLAYERS: Marques Johnson, Freeman Williams
DIRECTOR: Ron Shelton
CAMEOS: Alex Trebek, Chick Hearn
▪
Top 10 Best
Movies of All-Time - Jon Teitel
"3) One of the few, if only, comedies on the list involves a couple of
basketball players who use racial stereotypes to hustle others on the
court. Director Ron Shelton, who knows how to make a great sports
movie, employs a White character who can take advantage of people who
underestimate his basketball ability, and a Black character who can use
his White colleague to take even greater advantage of players on the
local courts. The film works as a comedy because of the widespread
belief that Black men are better basketball players than White men due
to their jumping ability (for a quick case study, look at the 2005 NBA
Slam Dunk contest). Marques Johnson is hilarious as a local player, and
Rosie Perez is a great comic foil as Woody Harrelson’s Latino
girlfriend."
Read the Rest of the Top
10 Best Basketball Movies of All Time
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